


A Thousand Times More Bearable

by orphan_account



Category: Hollow Knight (Video Games)
Genre: Crying, Cuddling & Snuggling, F/F, Human AU, I Don't Even Know, I wrote this so you guys can have content while I write more complex stuff, Nightmares, Not Beta Read, Thunderstorms, this is so short it hurts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-03
Updated: 2020-07-03
Packaged: 2021-03-05 03:28:23
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 876
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25057723
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Hornet closed her eyes and a hand came to caress her hair, like her mother did when she couldn’t sleep, and suddenly tonight didn't feel as awful as it had initially.
Relationships: Hornet/Lace (Hollow Knight)
Kudos: 42





	A Thousand Times More Bearable

**Author's Note:**

> So yeah, I'm writing a multichapter fic that was supposed to be a oneshot, but couldn't leave you guys with no content. I wrote this in one sitting while I was about to go to sleep, so forgive me if it's bad.

She was awakened by the storm. 

Today - tonight, actually - was a bad day. Hornet couldn’t tell why, she didn't want to figure it out, too, but she knew it was far from good. There was this… restlessness settling deep within her chest, and it made it very difficult for her to rest, like when she was younger and couldn't sleep because she had nightmares. She felt like a grub all over again.

It was fine back then, though, she could deal with some nights of no sleep or rest, she'd even gotten used to it ever since the world - her world - crumbled down like sand between her claws; she'd gotten used to the stasis and the effects it brought upon the land and its people.

Today, however, was different, very much different, because now that it all had gone back to normal she knew it was unacceptable for her to spend the night awake; she knew she was supposed to go back to normal, to having a schedule and things to do all over the place, but she just… couldn't do it. Like a clock that had gotten so used to being hours late it couldn't work when fixed.

Hornet… was awakened by storm.

It was new, she had to admit she had never seen rain pour down that strongly even at the capital; even less at the calm, forgotten town of Dirtmouth. It made her feel weird to witness such an event, as if she couldn’t believe the stasis to be over, didn't want to believe it to be over, but oh well, who was she to argue?

The thunder and lightning made it harder to close her eyes. They brought back memories she didn't want to remember, making the darkness almost unbearable. It was a conflicting feeling, but she could do nothing about it; sitting there, wishing for the sudden light of the storm to come again but not the deafening sounds accompanying it, trembling like a child as not even the slow swinging of her hammock could calm her down. Once again she felt like a little girl, as if her mother could come in through the door of her room to hug her at any moment now, but she knew that wouldn’t happen.

Loneliness, after years of being shooed off by her other, more conflicting feelings such as anger and sadness, finally hit her like a cold, hard slap; one she couldn’t bear to ignore much longer.

Yesterday was a good day, she thought, but tonight was a bad night; simple, isn't it? Hornet jumped down from her hammock, hissing in pain as she kneeled forcefully on the ground upon impact, body aching from the fight in the wastelands outside a day prior, and she fought the urge to claw at the bandages over her chest.

She wasn’t one to complain, but at this moment she wasn’t truly happy to be alive either, so she kept her mouth shut and held back a sob, throat tightening and cheeks heating up under the pressure of the tears she held back. She got up, tripping over her own healing feet as she headed over to the window.

Hornet didn't have the bravery needed to open it, but she sure felt like she needed a bit of water to pour down against her skin, as if it could somehow aid her into reaching sleep; she could only sigh and sit by the windowsill as she watched the lightning far away hitting the land, body flinching every so often at the thunderous sounds.

There were no words as her door was opened ever so slightly and a careful figure walked in. Without her uniform Lace looked like nothing but a common bug, but Hornet was thankful she was able to see her in such a casual way. Lace said nothing as she sat by Hornet's opposite side of the window, a lumafly lantern now between them; Hornet suddenly found the lightning less tempting to look at, and for that she was thankful.

Her hand was thoroughly embraced by the fighter's as it started trembling in both fear and freezing cold, and she was carefully brought closer by the other until she was leaning over her chest, face hiding in her neck. Hornet wasn't going to sleep anytime soon, that was for sure, but even then having Lace there felt good, better than before. 

A hand came up to wipe away her tears, one free of gloves and protections, and suddenly Hornet felt it quite hard to hold them back; not that Lace would be one to judge, of course. Her hand came up to hold her rival's clothes - and could she even be called a rival anymore? - before Hornet closed her eyes in an attempt of forgetting the storm, of forgetting the sudden lights that resembled that dream she had a day prior that had set this all off in the first place.

Hornet closed her eyes and a hand came to caress her hair, like her mother did when she couldn’t sleep, and suddenly tonight didn't feel as awful as it had initially. 

Tonight was a bad night, but it felt a thousand times more bearable with company; a thousand times more bearable with her.


End file.
